AUDIENCE SCORE

Movie Info

In a remote area of the Iranian mountains, 20-year-old Afghani refugee Djomeh works on a dairy farm alongside his older countryman, Habib. Every morning, Djomeh drives into town with the farm's kindly owner, Mr. Mahmoud, to whom he confides his scandalous romance with an older widow back home in Afghanistan as well as his blossoming affection for Setareh, the daughter of a local shopkeeper. The ease of their relationship contrasts sharply with the villagers' suspicious and cold attitudes to the young foreigner. The children throw stones and the adults make disparaging remarks but Djomeh retains his good humor, even when courting the indifferent Setareh. When Djomeh asks Mr. Mahmoud to act as an intermediary to pursue marriage with Setareh, his naive romanticism is painfully tested.

Djomeh (New Yorker) is not among the best of the Iranian imports -- its thematic compass is smaller--but it certainly shares some of the attributes of the best: patience and a belief that every human face is important.